Finding the men behind the faces

Have you ever looked at an old photo of First World War soldiers and wondered who they were? Perhaps you wondered whether they survived or whether they were one of the 67,000 Canadians who died in the war?

Over 1,500 Norfolk men and women served in the war and of these, 252 died and hundreds more were wounded, had limbs amputated, or suffered from shell shock or diseases. This is a photo of 126 of these Norfolk men taken at the end of their training in Camp Borden, Ontario in October 1916 just prior to their departure for England. They didn't know what was ahead, but as you look at them realize that they went on to serve in the trenches and fight in the battles of Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Arras and Amiens.

By the end of the war in November 1918, 30 of these men will have died and 55 of them will have been wounded—38 of whom would be invalided home as medically or physically unfit. Only 41 of the 126 soldiers below returned home without injury.

Now you can see for yourself the price Norfolk paid in the First World War and why we remember on November 11. Thanks to the munificence and talents of Fusion Design Group in Markham, Ontario, their stories can unfold before your eyes.

Hover your cursor over a soldier below to get to know the men behind the faces.